Dell XPS 13 ultrabook side-on

Dell has added a 13.3-inch ultra-slim laptop to its range of XPS machines that will go up against the likes of Lenovo, Samsung and Acer in the ultrabook category.

The Dell XPS 13, the first ultrabook from the company, was revealed on Wednesday at CES 2012 in Las Vegas during Intel's keynote speech. It will begin shipping in the UK in mid-March, but will be released in the US first, in February. No UK pricing has been released, but it will start at $999 (£651) in the US.

"It is specifically engineered to help both our consumer and commercial customers be more productive and connected in every way possible. From the edge-to-edge frameless display that packs more screen into a compact body, to the innovative carbon fibre base that is lightweight and cool to the touch," said Jeff Clarke, vice chairman of Dell.

Although the XPS brand has traditionally been a consumer line for Dell — one which the company said now accounts for 20 percent of its consumer laptop business — the company has added features it hopes will also appeal to IT departments. These features include TPM for Bitlocker Data encryption, optional ProSupport service and custom configuration services.

(Image: Ben Woods)

Dell XPS 13 with Titan

While the XPS 13 has a 13.3-inch 720p Gorilla Glass display, it is just 6mm thick at its thinnest, increasing to 18mm thick at the rear of the unit.

Dell said that despite the size of the display, the whole ultrabook fits in a form factor closer to devices with 11-inch screens.

The device weighs in at just 1.36kg, when used with a six-cell battery. It comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium as standard. For comparison, the Acer Aspire S5 ultrabook, also announced at CES 2012, weighs a similar amount, at 1.5kg.

Shown above is the XPS 13 with an HTC Titan on top, for size comparison.

(Image: Ben Woods)

Dell XPS 13 ultrabook

The XPS 13 ultrabook can be configured with a choice of Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 or Core i7 processor, 4GB RAM, integrated Intel HD 3000 video graphics, and 128GB or 256GB solid-state drives (SSD) for storage. It also includes 100GB of cloud storage in Dell's DataSafe, which the company has been operating since 2007.

(Image: Ben Woods)

Dell XPS 13 keyboard

It also features a full-size backlit, chiclet-style keyboard plus a glass touchpad with integrated buttons. The touchpad also supports multitouch gesture controls.

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Dell XPS 13 with Titan

While the XPS 13 has a 13.3-inch 720p Gorilla Glass display, it is just 6mm thick at its thinnest, increasing to 18mm thick at the rear of the unit.

Dell said that despite the size of the display, the whole ultrabook fits in a form factor closer to devices with 11-inch screens.

The device weighs in at just 1.36kg, when used with a six-cell battery. It comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium as standard. For comparison, the Acer Aspire S5 ultrabook, also announced at CES 2012, weighs a similar amount, at 1.5kg.

Shown above is the XPS 13 with an HTC Titan on top, for size comparison.

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